How to File BIR Form 1601-EQ in Philippines?

By: Hergie Anne C. De Guzman, CPA

After the filing of the monthly Expanded Withholding Tax (EWT) returns for the first two month of the quarter, taxpayers should also prepare for the quarterly filing of the BIR Form 1601-EQ covering the entire quarter or 3 months. The return is also known as the Quarterly Remittance Return of Creditable Income Taxes Withheld which was introduced last 2018 through RMC No. 27-2018 dated December 18, 2019. It is a declaration of the quarterly withheld taxes from each income payment subject to EWT. 

What are the covered transactions?

In order to know if a certain transaction is subject to EWT, we need to identify the nature of the expense. Common transactions subject to EWT with the applicable tax rates and Alphanumeric Tax Codes are as follows:

Please read How to File BIR Form 0619-E for a detailed discussion of the covered transactions.

How to file BIR Form 1601-EQ

Assuming that you wish to file for the Quarter 2 EWT return of the calendar year 2020, you have to follow the following steps in filing:

1. Log in to the Company’s eFPS account or through eBIR Forms (latest version is v7.6.1 as of writing this article, please check from time to time the BIR’s website for the updated version).
2. From the drop down selection, select Form – BIR Form 1601-EQ (Quarterly Remittance Form of Creditable Income Taxes Withheld).
3. Fill-out the fields in the form. Below are the details for each field: 

1. Click “Validate” to check any fields not yet filled-out. Should you wish to edit/revise any data entered, click “Edit”.
2. Click on “Submit” to proceed with filing of the return.
3. For eFPS, a Filing Reference Page will appear while for eBIR Form, a pop-up message for successful submission will appear. Print these for your records together with the Tax Return Receipt Confirmation (TRRC) email.
4. Proceed with the payment through any of the following:
   • For eFPS filers, through eFPS Payment Facilities linked to the company’s online banking system, or,
   • For eBIR-filers or manual filers, payment through Authorized Agent Banks (AABs) under your Revenue District Office’s (RDO) jurisdiction or through electronic payments such as GCash, Paymaya, Land Bank of the Philippines and Union Bank online payment facilities.

Required Attachment

The quarterly compliance for the Quarterly EWT does not end in the filing of BIR Form 1601-EQ. Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018, an amendment to RR No. 2-1998, prescribes that the quarterly return should be accompanied by the Quarterly Alphalist of Payees (QAP). The QAP is submitted by sending the DAT File generated in the BIR Alphalist Data Entry through BIR eSubmission email. Taxpayers receive a Validation Report which should be the proof of the successful submission of QAP.

Deadline for Filing and Payment

The deadline for filing the return and payment of the EWT due thereon, with the required QAP attachment, is on the last day of the month following the close of the quarter. In the example, the deadline (for the 2nd Quarter 2020 EWT) is on July 31, 2020.